The final time trial in this year?s Tour de France went from Pornic to <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /?>
Nantes. The riders were assisted by a strong tailwind on the 49 kilometers and most of the riders in the peloton were therefore able to complete the stage in less than an hour. Team CSC?s Tyler Hamilton only needed 54:14 to reach the line and that was an impressive performance on a slippery route with lots of difficult corners. In the end, it was only David Millar (Cofidis) who was able to beat
Hamilton and that was only by 9 seconds.
Bjarne Riis was impressed by Tyler Hamilton?s performance: ?
Tyler rode very fast today. At one point, he was about to make a wrong turn and if he had not made that mistake, he would have come very close to the stage victory. It was impressive to see his willingness to gamble on the very technical route. The final kilometers were very difficult and with the close battle at the front of the general classification in mind, it probably was not wise for the organizers to choose such a technical route.? <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /?>
Tyler Hamilton appeared satisfied with his overall performance in this year?s Tour de France: "It's been a rollercoaster Tour for me. That's for sure. I've had some big disappointments in the Tour, but I think that under the circumstances I've done pretty well. It gives me a lot of motivation to come back next year. If I can have some good luck then I'd like to shoot for the podium,"
Hamilton told Roadcycling.com while crossing his fingers. ?The stage victory was not my first priority today. It was much more important to move up in the general classification and that worked out well. ?
Hamilton is expected to sign a new contract shortly after the Tour. Rumor has it that
Hamilton is planning to switch from Team CSC to Team Phonak. Signing
Hamilton would make good sense for Team Phonak. The performances of
Hamilton in this year?s Tour should have impressed the race organizers to an extent that would make it a good way for Team Phonak to secure the long sought for ticket to the Tour.
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